Chapter 308: As If Bereft of Reason (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 308: As If Bereft of Reason (4)
A dark, unadorned room.
It was far too plain to be a noble’s quarters. A window with iron bars, a small bed that was soft but not cozy, a folding desk, and a two-shelf bookcase were its only furnishings.
Though ill-suited for a noble, it was luxurious for a prison. Marquis Legian Lin, who had spent a great deal of time in this room, wore a remarkably serene expression.
"How is the Royal Concubine?"
"She's past the worst of it," Chase replied. "She's receiving treatment and should recover gradually."
Aside from Hina's presence, there was nothing else to hide, so Chase kept his report brief.
"That is a relief. I hope she makes a full and swift recovery."
Legian was a woman who thought for herself and spoke her mind, which was precisely why she wasn't on Devlan's side. Devlan knew she despised him, yet he had never sent assassins after her. In truth, he couldn't touch her. Ruthless as he was, Devlan understood he needed a wise noble to represent and lead the aristocracy. That was why he'd kept her alive.
Instead, to keep Legian from getting any ideas, Devlan had arranged the betrothal between Chase and Arianne. The original Chase had been Devlan's man through and through, so Devlan had seen it as placing a political leash around Legian's neck.
"So, Crown Prince Franz has arrived in Secritia during a rather chaotic time."
At Legian's words, Franz gave a slight nod. No one in the room was ignorant of the fact that the cause and effect were reversed, but there was no need to say it aloud.
Afterward, Franz directed his question to Chase, not Legian.
—That knight. Where did he go?
—Sir Castrin should be at the Mage Association by now.
That was where Alan and Arsen were.
Franz was about to ask why the Sword Master, reputed to be the strongest on the continent, had gone to find two mages, but Legian, who could not hear their silent conversation, spoke to Chase.
"If you have any questions, please ask. I will answer them."
Chase watched her in silence for a moment before replying, his voice like a low sigh.
"Warriors of the Great Desert from Zeon and a mage from Libern were involved in the attack, so Zeon must be behind this. But before I question how my father is commanding Zeon's warriors, I need to understand the state of the nobility."
"Are you trying to find out who else, besides me, has the influence to move the nobles and ally with Zeon?"
"Precisely. I'm not sure who it is, and that's giving me a headache. Unfortunately, I can't fully trust my birds right now. I need information from another source."
"To work with the nobles, you need to know who to exclude. And if you can't be sure which of your 'birds' have sided with Zeon… I understand."
Legian nodded slowly and continued.
"You're saying His Majesty made it seem like the noble faction was trying to win over Crown Prince Franz, lured him from the palace, and then attacked Prince Calian. Then, Zeon intervened to harm them both, while also trying to kill the Kairis mages in Bridget Forest. Is that right?"
"Yes. And in the forest, all of Secritia's knights and soldiers were killed."
Devlan had meant to kill Calian. To be precise, he'd intended to kill Calian, Euria, and Rachel. Chase was certain it was a plot to frame him for their deaths and force him into submission.
But Zeon had sent their own warriors. If both princes died in a remote location with no witnesses, war would be inevitable. In that chaos, Zeon could eliminate Devlan and profit from the conflict. That was why Calian had concluded that Zeon had backstabbed Devlan. The first attack benefited Devlan immensely; the second did not.
"Are you certain there were Secritian swordsmen present during the second attack, not just warriors from Zeon?"
"I am certain."
"How can you be so sure when there is no other evidence?"
It was Franz who answered this question.
"Because my younger brother saw them."
Excluding the two warriors, the other thirty-two swordsmen in the forest were clearly not from Zeon. Based on their swordplay and their conversation with the warriors, Calian had concluded they were likely the private soldiers of a Secritian noble.
Nodding once more, Legian spoke.
"Does the Royal Concubine know about this?"
"She knows everything that happened last night, including the fact that Secritian swordsmen attacked Prince Calian."
"Then it seems the Royal Concubine wanted the nobles to unite behind you, Your Highness, instead of siding with Zeon. But to take poison, no matter the reason… it was a poor choice."
Calian, who had returned on the brink of death.
Louise, who had swallowed poison before Devlan to force the nobles to trust Chase and turn their blades away from Calian.
In a single night, Chase had nearly lost them both. Beneath the table, his fists clenched tight.
Legian stared at Chase, who looked far more haggard than he had just a few days ago, before speaking.
"The incident with the Royal Concubine hasn't been made public. I suspect someone took drastic measures to ensure it couldn't be covered up. If Baron Manasil had met the same fate, not even His Majesty could have kept it quiet."
"An investigation of that scale would require your involvement, Marquis. Therefore, I suspect this was plotted by someone who wants you released."
"I had no part in what happened to the Prince of Kairis—who I hear has a special relationship with you, Your Highness—or to his master. As I said, I have no complaints about my life here. But it seems you didn't come here out of concern for me."
Legian said this with a small smile.
In truth, Chase had suspected Legian as well. If Kyrie hadn't been watching her all night, confirming she'd had no opportunity to orchestrate anything, Legian would still be on his list.
Relieved to have eliminated one suspect, Chase nodded.
"I didn't come here because I was wary of you, Marquis. I came because it's strange that the poison was in Baron Manasil's tea, not Crown Prince Franz's. I want to know why someone who was targeting the Crown Prince's life just last night would suddenly change their plan."
"If he were still just a prince, the poison would have been in Crown Prince Franz's cup. But to change their minds and poison Baron Manasil's tea instead means…"
Franz scowled in irritation. He did not appreciate the two of them discussing the enemy's moves so casually right in front of the very person who had almost been poisoned.
"It means they realized my status has changed."
A change of plans. Just as Calian predicted. They originally intended to kill Franz, but then they learned he'd been named Crown Prince and that Alan had arrived in Secritia. Suddenly, Franz's value had changed.
Now that he was the Crown Prince with full authority over Valkan, they must have decided it was better to try and win him over rather than kill him and start a war.
"Exactly. Which is why they changed their plans. But to do that, they needed someone to frame for last night's assassination attempt."
As Chase spoke, his eyes fell on Legian. They intended to pin the blame on her—the most convenient suspect—while they retreated to watch from the sidelines. There was no other reason to suddenly switch the poison's target.
"But sudden changes in plans always lead to mistakes."
Chase paused, then looked at Legian. "What are the chances the nobles know that Kairis has chosen its Crown Prince?"
"Almost zero. Before my confinement, information flowed through me, but now it's completely controlled. They might know the Kairis princes are in Secritia, but that the crown prince was decided just this morning? Impossible."
"Then the only people who know are me, my mother, my father, and…"
Chase's fingers drummed lightly on the table. A sorrowful look crossed Legian's face as she nodded and finished his sentence.
"Meilin Lonz."
The President of Secritia's Mage Association.
"If Count Hertz of Kairis accompanied the prince to the Association, she would have heard the news."
Chase, who had been thinking of the same name, let out a dry laugh.
He had been carefully cultivating a good relationship with the Mage Association, planning to build an army of mages after his ascension. Meilin had no reason to betray him and start a war, nor did she have any reason to target Legian. And she certainly had no reason to provoke Alan, bringing a colossal threat down on Secritia. She had no motive at all… unless she was working with Zeon.
"...It seems we've found our traitor."
Chase's gaze fell on the foreign crown prince. Franz had knowingly drunk potentially poisoned tea, risking his own life just to confirm if their unknown enemy had changed targets.
* * *
A mage's loyalty is not easily broken.
Crack, crackle!
A deep purple electric current coursed over a thick wall of ice. It was a shield similar to the one the Valkan members had created when they encountered Siona Hill on their way to the elf city.
Eila slowly got to her feet. She'd nearly been incinerated by a fireball while trying to retrieve Arianne's belongings for Arsen. If she hadn't thrown herself aside the instant she sensed danger, and if Arsen's shield hadn't materialized around her a split-second later, she'd be a corpse.
"...They said those Secritian bastards are vicious, and they weren't lying."
The heads of the other two mages snapped toward her.
"You shouldn't use such harsh language in front of the Princess, Association President," Arsen chided.
"Not all of them are vicious," Euria added.
Rachel, the third mage, ignored the banter. Instead, she manipulated the floor, sliding the sofa with the unconscious Arianne safely behind them.
"Did you hit Lady Lin a little too hard?" Arsen asked, glancing around.
Eila nodded, and Arsen shook his head with a look of profound regret.
"A shame. If she woke up and saw this, she'd have to apologize for not believing us."
"Never mind that. Secure Coco, kid."
"Already done, Association President."
"Good."
The kid certainly knew how to keep a tight grip on things, be it his wits or Coco.
Euria chuckled, her eyes fixed forward. "It's also a shame our Corps Commander, who was once the Crown Prince and Vice-Commander, isn't here to see this. He would have reflected on leaking the secret."
"They probably never intended to work with Crown Prince Chase," Arsen replied. "Another army like Valkan wouldn't do Zeon any good."
"Seems that way. They must have been drooling at the chance to take out this country's crown prince and catch us in the crossfire."
"This is all because our Prince is too competent, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about? That makes no sense."
"It just does, Association President."
Euria and Arsen stood back-to-back, with Rachel, Eila, and the unconscious Arianne protected at the center. They bantered with little tension, despite being surrounded by nearly twenty mages from the Association, led by the 6th Circle mage Meilin herself, all with their hands raised to attack.
Boom!
As if provoked by their casual demeanor, one of the mages struck the barrier. Instantly, the purple electricity coursing over the ice surged outward.
Crack, crackle!
A blinding flash erupted. The attacking mage's shield shattered like glass. Electrocuted by an impossibly powerful current, he collapsed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
And that was the signal.
Crash!
Boom! Bang!
Mages swarmed in, battering Arsen's barrier from all sides. Arsen clenched his jaw, gathering his mana to withstand the onslaught. Shockwaves powerful enough to make the magically reinforced building tremble radiated outward.
It was suicide for a swordsman to interfere in a battle between mages. Eila knew this well, so she simply stood guard in front of Arianne, shielding them both from stray spells.
The floor iced over, and the electric current swept out. One mage teleported away, only to find the ground beneath him give way, forcing him onto the electrified ice. Spears of ice shot from all directions, and whenever an enemy's shield froze over, a bolt of lightning would strike it from above.
Kaboom!
A massive fireball slammed into the barrier, shaking it with explosive force.
Crack!
A long fracture appeared in the thick ice, a testament to the difference in their Circles. Arsen's eyes narrowed as he gathered his strength again, but then—
Freeze.
As if time itself had stopped, the mages all around them ground to a halt.
An immense gravitational force crushed the mages outside the barrier. Even from a distance, the reddish-silver hair of the 7th Circle Archmage who had frozen the battlefield was unmistakable. And he wasn't alone.
Slice!
A section of Arsen's barrier—a barrier that had withstood a massive fireball from the Association President—was carved away as easily as pudding. A figure stepped through the new opening.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked, his sword blazing with a brilliant blue aura as he surveyed the Kairis mages.
Teilan Castrin.
Arsen stared as the continent's greatest swordsman made his barrier look utterly meaningless. He instinctively took a step aside.
Shielding the unconscious Arianne with his body, Arsen nodded, flashing the most innocent smile of his life.
* * *
Calian slept.
The Archmage did his part.
The First Sword of the Continent did his. The Crown Prince of Secritia, the Crown Prince of Kairis—everyone knew their roles and played them perfectly.
Devlan pondered.
Louise recovered while Legian watched the situation unfold.
Days passed.
One day, two days, three days went by.
"...I'll have to make them pay for this scar."
Staring in the mirror at the long scar etched across his back, Calian, finally awake, let out a low, dark laugh.